


These Are the Days of Love and Life

by embersky



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Language, Recreational Drug Use, Underage Drinking, nothing more than what's in the game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2015-12-05
Packaged: 2018-05-04 09:02:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5328416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/embersky/pseuds/embersky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Max knows she's going to like the coffee shop. She knows she's going to practically be living there - her roommate is, well, less than ideal. What she doesn't know is that she's going to fall for the blue-haired barista who's quickly become one of her best friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Two Days

From day one, Max knows she’s going to love this coffee shop. Well, she knew already; it had all started when, during the orientation camp she’d attended, they’d offered free samples of their coffee complete with the syrup concoction they referred to as “Secret Sauce”. Max was _hooked_. After settling in and doing her best to acclimate to her dorm for a few days, she finds herself taking the short walk over to Two Whales Coffee at long last, lugging her laptop, camera bag, and sketchbook with her.

There’s a bell over the door, and as coffee shop door bells go it’s a pretty nice-sounding one. The second she’s inside, Max breathes in the atmosphere of the place – wood floors that thump slightly under her feet, brick walls, the obligatory merchandise, the cold-brew setup constantly going, all twisting glass and glinting a bit in the light from the window.

“Welcome to Two Whales Coffee!” greets the barista currently lounging behind the counter. He’s got messy brown hair that falls over his forehead just a bit, and a wide grin, and a shirt with the Triforce on it, half-hidden beneath an apron. His voice is easy-going but at the same time eager and excited.

Max smiles back, heading up to the counter and fishing through her camera bag for her wallet.

“What can I get for you?” he asks, his attempt at professionalism not half-bad.

Squinting up at the hand-written menu, Max considers her options. “What’s best here?”

“Everything,” he replies, and she can tell it’s not a scripted response; he really means everything is good. He does seem like one of those people who’d try everything on the menu to find out so he could do his job well.

Max laughs a bit. “Okay, narrowing it down. What’s the best thing that’s got espresso in it?”

He drums his fingers on the counter, considering. “My personal favorite is the No Bull. Basically a latte, but we add in our Secret Sauce. I recommend the 20 oz, personally. The more, the better.”

 “Sold,” Max says, pulling out her card. The barista grins, accepting it and swiping it through the reader connected to what looks like an iPad. He spins the apparatus around, producing a cup almost at the same moment.

“Sign here – oh, and what’s your name?” he asks, uncapping and then deftly spinning a sharpie between his fingers.

“Max,” she replies. She uses a finger to scrawl her name on the digital dotted line.

“Cool name.” He scribbles it down on the cup. “Nice to meet you, Max. I’m Warren.”

She gives him a friendly handshake across the counter, and then Warren’s off to the machine. She watches, replacing her card and dropping the wallet back into her bag, as he presses the espresso, then sticks it into the machine. He steams the milk with one hand while pulling a double shot with the other. Max gets the impression that he’s worked here for a while, although his apron says otherwise – she’s been in enough coffee shops to identify a veteran barista by how well-loved their apron looks. Warren’s is pristine (maybe he’s just washed it, but it looks pretty damn new).

“Here you go!” He’s suddenly in front of her, sliding the drink across the counter with another grin. “See you around, Max.”

“See you around,” she replies, smiling back, picking up the cup, and heading outside to find a comfortable table near an outlet.

Outside, in the deck area, she spots a perfect corner and drops her bags onto the seat, making herself comfortable on the worn cushion. She drags out her laptop, plugs it in as it boots up, then opens a word processor with a scowl.

The coffee shop’s good – the paper that’s due in a couple days not so much. She straightens her glasses and gets to work.

 

* * *

 

The caffeine seemed to have helped her focus, and the drink with secret sauce was as fantastic as she remembered, so when she goes back the next day it’s her plan to order the same thing.

This time, Warren’s not working. Instead, the barista’s a tall, thin girl, beanie covering most of what appears to be bright blue hair. She’s got a tank top on, which reveals a tattoo all down her right arm, spiraling flowers and vines surrounding a skull. As the bell above the door chimes, her face lights up and she grins at Max. “Hey,” she says simply.

“Hi,” Max replies, trying not to blush – this girl is cute, and really, she can’t blame herself for that observation.

“I’m Chloe,” she offers immediately.

“Max.”

“Hella nice to meet you, Max.” She idly spins the iPad setup around a couple times. “What can I get for you?”

Max glances up at the menu, although she has the order memorized already. “Can I get a No Bull? 20 oz.”

“No Bull it is,” Chloe responds, tapping the display a couple times. Max hands over the card, Chloe swipes it – Max notices her nails are painted the same blue as her hair – and hands it back to her, indicating for her to sign. Max does so as Chloe scrawls “MAX” on the cup in large letters and immediately sets to work.

She’s even better than Warren at balancing all the steps involved in making the drink, and Max watches in fascination as she pours the espresso and the milk at the same time, leaving a leaf-shaped pattern on the top of the foam.

“Here you go!” Her voice is cheerful as she hands Max the drink. Max jumps; she’d been studying the leaf pattern closely, fumbling blindly through her bag for her polaroid camera. The others in her photography class had called it “way too old school” until she’d gotten the top grade in the entire class on their first project, and then their second, and so on. One of them had even tried getting a polaroid camera of their own, but their grade hadn’t come close to Max’s.

Chloe laughs a bit when Max pulls the camera out and snaps a picture of the leaf pattern. “Cool camera,” she says, and Max thinks she’s being sarcastic until she sees the sincere look on Chloe’s face and processes the tone she’d used. Surprise, not derision. “My dad used to use one of those. Brings back good memories. Haven’t seen one in a while, though.”

“I like it – it’s, well, old school. There’s something different about the way the pictures come out.”

“That what you’re studying?” Chloe asks. “Photography?”

“And art, yeah.”

“That’s hella cool.”

Max smiles, snapping a lid onto the cup with a bit of regret. The picture’s nearly developed, and she examines it for a moment. Chloe bends over it as well. “That really is a nice shot.”

“Thanks.”

“Well, guess I’ll see you around, then?” She sounds hopeful, and Max nods. She likes Chloe; she feels comfortable here at Two Whales even though she’s only briefly met two of the baristas. More comfortable than she feels in her dorm, anyway. Once she’s out the door to the deck area she makes a face, hoping Lisa will be asleep by the time she makes it back to the dorm. Max really doesn’t want to deal with ‘the doommate’, as she’s dubbed her, any more than she has to.

She glances over her shoulder at the sign displaying the shop’s hours to confirm that the place closes at midnight. It does, and she breathes a sigh of relief, once again settling into her already-preferred corner.

 _Not a bad day_ , she thinks, even as she pulls up the half-finished paper. Taking a sip of her coffee, she blinks. It’s definitely the same drink as the day before, but it’s somehow better. She’s not precisely sure why, but it’s on another level than Warren’s. With a shrug, she sets to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, the college AU and the coffee shop AU have been done a million times. But I have a weakness for it, and for Pricefield. I've also got some stories from my (short) time at college and my equally-short time as a barista. Figured I may as well put them to good use. I shamelessly stole the drink's name and the "Secret Sauce" from the coffee shop I frequented at college.
> 
> Hopefully I'll start writing everyone better as I get used to it. Also, I apologize for any mistakes I wasn't able to catch - if you see any, feel free to point them out.
> 
> Title is from the song Destination, by Imagine Dragons.


	2. A Step Forward

When Max wanders into the shop for a third time, she’s greeted by the sight of a yet another barista – a smaller girl, hair piled perfectly on top of her head. She’s the most professional employee of Two Whales Max has run into so far – further evidenced by Chloe, who is practically waltzing around the seating area with a rag in hand.

Max watches her for a minute. She’s not poised, not by any means, but she has a sort of easy grace to her movements that Max hadn’t noticed before, when she was just behind the counter making the drinks. She thinks Chloe’s a bit taller than her – okay, maybe more than a bit. Her beanie’s off today, showing off strawberry blonde roots fading into purple and then into what Max has already dubbed Chloe’s trademark blue.

She’s also got a necklace on today; it catches the light as she turns and hurriedly scrubs down another table. It looks like it’s three bullets on a long cord; it suits her, for some reason, although Max isn’t sure why she already has that impression.

Max blinks, noticing the girl behind the counter watching. “I – uh – sorry,” she stammers. _Fuck, am I blushing?_

Fortunately, Kate – Max learns her name when she orders her usual – didn’t seem to notice anything strange, and hands her the drink with a friendly smile. Max smiles back and heads to her usual spot.

The Two Whales is typically moderately busy, she’s learned. Students come in and out throughout the day, getting their in-between-class caffeine fix or looking for a good place to study and have a bite to eat. The shop’s got a small selection of baked goods, and a few varieties of sandwiches. Nothing fancy, but as far as coffee shop food goes it’s not bad.

Admittedly, Max has eaten the Two Whales food for dinner for the past two nights – it wasn’t worth heading back to the dorm cafeteria. She didn’t want to run into Lisa and have to offer an awkward explanation for why she’s been essentially avoiding her for the past few days. “I’ve been busy” doesn’t really cut it when you live in the same room.

She’s halfway through her No Bull and a third of the way through the assigned reading for one of her photography classes when she’s startled by the deck door rattling open and slamming shut with a loud _thud_.

Blinking, Max finds herself looking up at Chloe, who has reached into her pocket and pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. The sun catches it perfectly as she flips it end over end, and Max wishes she’d been able to get a picture. It would’ve been beautiful.

“Don’t worry, Max, I’m not gonna smoke in here,” Chloe says with a small wave. “Just passing through.”

Max blinks again. She realizes that Chloe’s remembered her name – although to be fair, she’d heard her give it to Kate _maybe_ twenty minutes earlier.

She wonders if she’ll become an official regular if she keeps showing up at the Two Whales every day. It’s been on her bucket list for a while now, and here is as good a place as any to cross that off.

She’s made more progress on both her drink and the reading when Chloe comes back through the deck area. She’s wearing a pair of sturdy boots, and they thump against the protesting deck boards. It’s a purposeful sound – Max isn’t much of a poet, but she can appreciate little things like that.

 

* * *

 

“Oh – hey. You’re still here, Max?”

Max jumps, her glasses slipping slightly down the bridge of her nose before she manages to push them back up again. “Y-yeah, I am,” she responds.

“Didn’t mean to startle you.” Chloe leans against a table across the aisle. “You’ve been here for a while. Sure you don’t want another drink?”

She hasn't even considered it for some reason – her work is apparently more engrossing than she’d expected. “Uh, sure – one sec.” She rummages through her bag for her wallet and follows Chloe inside.

“No Bull again?” the blue-haired girl asks, and Max nods. “Hella risky, you know, Max; it’s like nine at night.”

“Are you cereal?” Max says without thinking, and Chloe snorts. “Old habit,” she mutters, to which Chloe looks even more amused.

“Yeah, I’m _cereal_. It’s like nine fifteen, dude – you sure you want this much espresso?”

Max shrugs. “I’m still studying, and I haven’t had a problem with caffeine before.”

The ghost of a grin passes over Chloe’s face; just as quickly it’s gone, as she scribbles “MAX” on the cup and sets to work. More curious than before, Max watches – Kate’s drink had tasted almost exactly like Warren’s, and she’d watched Kate make the drink – was Chloe making it any differently? Then again, maybe it had been a fluke.

She fought back a chuckle at the pun.

A minute later, Chloe slides her newly-made No Bull across the counter. Max notices that instead of the leaf, the pattern looks a lot more like a flower this time.

“Gonna snap a picture?” the barista asks, and Max nods, pulling out her camera and framing the shot. “Figured I’d change it up a bit, since you like your photos and all.”

Max’s mouth twists into a smile again. For some reason, she’s finding herself smiling a lot more at the Two Whales than anywhere else. Especially around Chloe, although she chalks that up to Chloe being the one who’s made the most effort to strike up a bit of a friendship.

It’s nice, she supposes, since she hasn’t been able to make many friends around campus.  It’s a bit awkward with Lisa in the picture. Max always feels uncomfortable when one of her friends shows up at her dorm to head somewhere, while Lisa never does. The girl is nice, but there’s not all that much of an effort on her part to make friends aside from Max. She’s too focused on studying, so she's put down roots in the room, and seems to be staying there.

Max sighs, snapping the lid on the drink. The coffee’s trapped, just like her.

_Melodramatic much?_

“Something up, Mad Max?”

Again, Max is startled into blinking. It’s day two of knowing Chloe, and already she’s got a nickname? “Oh – no, just tired, I guess.”

Honestly, it’s better that she doesn’t get into details of her already-vaguely-harrowing roommate experiences with someone she barely knows.

Once she’s settled in, she takes a sip of the coffee. Once again, it’s a level beyond Warren and Kate’s. Chloe definitely seems to have some sort of bizarre coffee-making talent.

When the shop closes at midnight, Max regretfully packs up her things. As she heads out, she hears a cheerful “See you around, Max!” from behind the counter. Turning, she sees Chloe waving, cleaning rag still in hand. Uncurling her hand from around her camera bag strap, Max waves back.

Maybe she’s got a shot at this whole friends thing after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for your response to Chapter 1; made my day! :) 
> 
> Anyway, here's Chapter 2, although I might come back and edit it a bit once I'm not running on an hour and a half of sleep. If you see any mistakes or anything, please let me know!
> 
> Also - I need opinions. I'm debating whether or not to give Max her rewind powers for this fic (minus the tornado - this is a happy AU, after all). I've got ideas for going in either direction, so what do you guys want to see? 
> 
> (If I go in a non-rewind direction for this, I might write a spinoff of this fic to explore what happens if Max's rewind powers are unleashed (benevolently, of course) on Two Whales Coffee.)
> 
> So yeah, let me know what you think, feedback, criticism, etc!


	3. Fourth Floor

The campus is quiet as Max makes her way back from Two Whales to her dorm. Her mom would freak if she knew Max was walking alone at night, but Max wasn’t super concerned – she always saw campus security cars patrolling during her walk, and ‘alone’ wasn’t exactly the word she’d use for the walk back. (At least once, she’d seen a couple doing who-knows-what in a dark corner. She’d pretended she hadn’t seen them and hurried on.)

Just as the campus is quiet, her dorm is quiet. It’s one of Blackwell University’s older buildings, and Max occasionally regrets her choice to live there, but the community had won her over. A lot of good that was doing her. Hurrying up the steps, she slides her card through the reader and makes her way up to the third floor and down the hall.

She hesitates in front of her door. Part of her wants to go in, because it _is_ past midnight and sleep sounds like a good idea. The other part sees the light under the door – Lisa’s definitely not asleep, and Max doesn’t feel comfortable with the inevitable “Where’ve _you_ been?” she’ll be greeted with.

_There’s always the fourth floor_ , she reminds herself. She’s been up there a couple times, but something about its cold, almost-abandoned feel keeps her away most of the time. Still, there are couches, and the dorm kitchen’s up there, so she _knows_ it’s not bad. Just not as comfortable as her room, from a sleeping standpoint.

Nevertheless, she sighs and heads up one more flight. Maybe she can just head down in a couple hours, when Lisa will have given up on studying for the night, stick her headphones in, and get at least a decent amount of sleep. Once again, she hopes that she’ll be able to score a single room for the next year – the relative solitude sounds wonderful in the grand scheme of things.

As is usual at this hour, the fourth floor is quiet. No one is in the kitchen, the smell of microwave permeates half the room, and the air conditioning system is emitting a gentle hum. Max hurries across to the couch farthest from the kitchen and piles her bags in the corner, pulling out her journal and the photos she’s taken that day.

At the top of the pile is the picture of Chloe’s latest masterpiece, and she grins. She wonders where Chloe’s learned to create latte art – has she been working at Two Whales long enough to pick it up on her own? Has someone taught her? The blue-haired barista has yet to spill any deep, dark secrets about her life, other than the fact that she smokes, seems to find Max interesting, and for some reason thinks Max’s nine-at-night caffeine consumption is vaguely hilarious.

Max still thinks she’s cute. Not that she’d say anything. She blushes at the very _thought_.

She’s got her music playing through her Apple-standard-issue headphones and is halfway through creating her latest journal entry, polaroid photos scattered around her over the couch cushions, when she nods off.

 

* * *

 

When she hears someone rattling around in the kitchen through the haze of sleep, she jolts awake with a surprised “Shit!” and immediately checks her phone clock.

“Shit,” she mumbles again. A few minutes past ten in the morning. She’s missed her history of photography class.

On the bright side, Lisa had Latin at nine, and has some sort of classics class right around now. The room will be empty for once – perfect time for Max to head in and get ready to face the day.

About half an hour later she finds herself staring into her closet. Growing up, people always commented on how she’d wear hoodies even when it was ridiculously hot outside. She’s seen the forecast on her phone, and today definitely qualifies as ‘ridiculously hot’ as far as hoodies are concerned, but she doesn’t care. It’s not like what anyone thinks matters in the long run.

She pulls one on over a clean t-shirt, then rummages through her bag for the three photos she’s decided will become part of the Max Caulfield Photo Memorial Wall above her bed. Taping them up, she steps back to admire the effect and nods, satisfied.

Lisa’s still gone, for which Max thanks whatever gods preside over the Prescott dorm. The girl’s left a water bottle balanced precariously on the edge of her desk, the cap not completely on, and Max carefully slides it over a couple inches before shouldering her bags. _Can’t have it spilling; for all I know she might blame me._

At least she’s got a few hours she can kill at Two Whales before her afternoon lit class.

 

* * *

 

Warren is barista today. He smiles when he sees Max come in and says “Hi!” immediately, before the bell even stops its jingling.

“Hi, Warren,” Max replies, adjusting her camera bag strap. “How are you?”

“Not bad, Max, not bad.”

“You remembered my name,” she observes, pleased. _I really might make friends here._

“Of course I remembered. You got a No Bull last time, right? Is that today’s order, or want to try something new?”

He’s as enthusiastic as the last time, so Max good-naturedly studies the menu for a moment before shrugging. “You really sold me on the No Bull, to be honest. I think I’ll go with that again.”

“One No Bull, coming right up!” He spins the iPad toward her, already headed to the machine. Lining up the cup and the steamed milk pitcher, he starts the espresso as he spins the knob to steam the milk. His enthusiasm seems to extend to this process – he’s gone a bit overboard, and his face and apron are now adorned with the stuff. Max chuckles, snapping a photo, before realizing that doing so might be a bit awkward.

“Sorry,” she says hurriedly, but Warren doesn’t seem to mind.

“That’s got to be a hell of a shot,” he replies, grin widening. “I’m new here – still not perfect at the whole thing,” he explains, waving an arm at the machine. “Shit, the espresso!” It’s filled the tiny pitcher and then some – _way_ too much. “Gotta redo it,” he mumbles, restarting the process. Max waves the photo a couple times, watching as it develops. She’s captured Warren mid-realization that he’s maybe made a _bit_ of a mistake. It’s a priceless expression, and when he finally comes over with her finished drink, she shows him the photo.

As she’d guessed, he laughs. “That’s kind of an awesome photo, even if it does document my misfortune.” He rests a hand over his heart, giving her a melodramatic look. “If Chloe sees this, she’ll _never_ let me live it down.”

“I’ll bet.” Max snaps a lid over the not-so-latte-art and sticks the photo in her bag. She feels comfortable enough in the situation to say “Blackmail material” with a pseudo-serious look before heading off to her seat.

Warren is left sputtering in mock indignation as the door thumps shut behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another day, another chapter! Less Pricefield this time, but I wanted to establish some of the 'college AU' stuff, as well as a few more details on Lisa the plant-turned-human-roommate. Hopefully it's not dead boring.
> 
> I also just now realized that replies to comments do in fact count as more comments. Oops.
> 
> Anyway, stay tuned for Chapter 4, coming soon!


	4. Butterfly Photo

Chloe seems to be on a break – she’s sitting across the way from Max, scrolling through something on her phone. She’s got her feet up on the nearest chair, and looks remarkably comfortable.

Blinking ( _staring again, what the fuck, Max_ ), she returns to her latest assignment. An attempt at taking another sip of her coffee ends with her making a face at the cup; she’s apparently already finished the drink and just not noticed. Taking a moment to decide whether or not she wants to spend another few dollars on a second one, she determines she can wait until later – maybe get some water in the meantime.

She feels eyes on her. Chloe’s now watching her from across the way, a slight smirk on her face. “I do that all the time,” she says good-naturedly. “Want another one on the house? You’re here often enough.”

“Oh – I...” Max stammers. “Um, I…sure, I guess. Or I could just pay for it,” she adds hastily, rubbing her arm and fighting the urge to squirm in her seat.

“Nah, it’s on me.” Chloe gets to her feet – she’s always so fucking _graceful_ , Max observes, although not in the conventional sense – more relaxed, maybe – and heads inside.

Before she knows it, Chloe’s back, handing her the new drink. Max thanks her quietly. She feels her ears burning, and once again she’s glad her hair covers them.

“So, photography,” the other girl says. Max jumps a bit, attention now focused completely on Chloe. “Like I said, hella cool. That what you want to do?”

She nods, and Chloe grins. It seems like she wants to know more, so Max obliges her. “Been something I’ve wanted to do for years. I’ve always loved seeing how people capture the world, freezing it at _just_ the right second. I want to be able to do that too. Eventually.” She shrugs. “I’m not great at it yet.”

“Aw, c’mon. I’m sure you’re fantastic at it, Super Max – I’ve seen the ones you took of the coffee. You’ve got a good eye – admittedly I’m no expert, but I like what you do.”

“Thanks,” Max stammers, feeling her ears burning again. She wasn’t expecting a compliment, but she finds she’s not opposed to it. Not at all.

“Got any good ones on you? I’d love to see them. Only if you want, of course,” she quickly adds.

Max rummages through her bag and produces a few, setting them on the table. Chloe takes a seat in the booth, peering down at them. “Seriously, Max, these are great.” Her voice is sincere, and Max smiles.

“I honestly take way too many. Some of them don’t turn out so well, but I take enough that some come out okay.”

“More than okay,” Chloe says quietly. After another minute or so, she leans back. “Thanks for showing me, Max. That was pretty cool of you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Max half-mumbles, blushing a bit as she sticks the photos back in her bag.

“Hey, no need to be shy. We’re friends, right?” Chloe’s watching her hopefully, and something about what she said, and the way she said it, makes Max feel happier than she has in the last month.

“Definitely,” she replies, more confident.

Chloe grins. “Good. Well, uh, my break’s about over, so I guess I’ll see you around?”

Answering her grin with one of her own, Max nods. “For sure.”

Before Max leaves for the night, Chloe catches her, and they swap numbers. Max heads back to her dorm, swinging her arms a bit and still smiling.

_Not a bad day. Not a bad day at all._

 

* * *

 

When she gets back to her dorm, she finds Lisa asleep, so she quietly gets in bed and sticks in her headphones. About six minutes later, her phone buzzes, startling her a bit.

 

**[12:21 am] Chloe:** _You make it back okay? Hella dark out there._

Max blinks, startled that Chloe cares enough to check.

**[12:22 am] Max:** _Yep, made it back fine_

**[12:22 am] Max:** _Thanks :)_

**[12:23 am] Chloe:** _Don’t mention it, Mad Max. Oh – and my #1 rule: NO EMOJI_

**[12:24 am] Max:** _Will do my best to remember!_

**[12:25 am] Chloe:** _Good, or no more free refills for you_

She laughs to herself, sets her alarm, and turns off the display. Quickly she checks to make sure she didn’t wake Lisa – all clear. Barely two minutes later, she falls asleep with a smile on her face.

 

* * *

 

She’s about five minutes from Two Whales when she hears her text tone go off.

 

**[2:20 pm] Chloe:** _You’re coming in today about now right_

 

Raising an eyebrow, she replies.

 

**[2:21 pm] Max:** _Yeah. How’d you know?_

**[2:21 pm] Chloe:** _You always get here around now on Tuesdays, I’ve noticed_

**[2:22 pm] Max:** _I don’t know whether to call you observant or a stalker._

**[2:23 pm] Chloe:** _I’d prefer the latter_

**[2:23 pm] Chloe:** _Anyway your no bull will be waiting for you with new latte art for your collection_

**[2:24 pm] Chloe:** _Because I am hella fucking on top of things today_

**[2:24 pm] Max:** _Are you seriously texting while making the No Bull?_

**[2:25 pm] Max:** _I can see you through the window._

**[2:25 pm] Chloe:** _Yep, I can do all this shit at once_

**[2:25 pm] Max:** _Wowser, that takes talent._

She pushes the door open, and is greeted by a grinning Chloe.

“‘Wowser’? Really?” she says. Max just shrugs. “Anyway, one No Bull, ready to go for photography _and_ consumption.”

“We’ll see if it lives up to the drinks you make while not texting,” Max says with a smirk, pulling out her camera. Today Chloe’s created a butterfly. It’s amazing. She had no idea that it was possible to create something that detailed with just steamed milk and espresso.

“You did this _while texting_.”

“Nah, I put down the phone for this. Otherwise it’d look like shit.”

“It’s beautiful,” Max finally breathes, snapping a photo.

“Well, you know I make a ton of lattes, so I’ve gotta make it more fun once in a while.”

At long last, Max works up enough social courage to ask, “How long have you been working here? I just… I’m just curious how you’ve picked this up.”

Chloe shrugs. “I’ve worked here ever since it was legal for me. Get some spending money, then money for bills and shit. And food, and, y’know, beer and stuff.”

“The important things in life,” Max replies with a small smile.

“Yep.” Chloe watches as Max snaps the lid on with obvious regret.

“Well, I’d better get to studying,” she says. “I’ve got a test tomorrow, and I really can’t risk my GPA dropping too much lower.”

“All right, then, I won’t keep you from your bidness any longer.” Chloe gives her a small wave as Max heads outside. Max answers it just before the door swings closed.

Once she’s settled, she discovers that the drink is, in fact, just as good as Chloe’s always are. She stares down at the butterfly photo, studying the design again. It really warms her heart that someone created that for _her_.

She watches the blue-haired barista through the window for a minute. It’s hard for her to take her eyes off of Chloe, even if she’s just doing mundane tasks.

Realizing she’s staring _again_ , she sets to work with a sigh. This whole thing is confusing, but she doesn’t mind. She just – she just really wants to get to know Chloe better. _That’s all_ , she tells herself sternly.

_That’s all._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up; I wanted to spend a bit longer trying to get this right, since we're finally getting into more Pricefield! I hope you guys like it, and I'm also hoping I'll be able to get their voices down better soon. If you have any advice, feel free to share it with me!
> 
> Also, if the texting sections are hard to read, let me know and I'll find a better way to format them.


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